That was a such a lovely read. Victoria and John are polar opposites that attract at first sight. But their different personalities and personal baggage complicate their lust-turned-love relationship. The writing is very pleasant, the characters well fleshed out, the relationship flows organically despite the short time frame. I like how real and normally neurotic both the leads were. No over the top multibillionaire, no dirt poor assistant... Victoria was a smart, witty and determined professional woman. I like how engaged in her job, with her students, and ambitious she was. I loved how un-typical of a male lead John was : his laid back no-alphaing bullshit was so cool and sexy. Also... A Librarian! Yeah! His family history was a bit more intriguing and fun than Victoria, and would have love to read a little bit about them at the end. But it was all in all a very satisfying, well written, engaging book!

I adored this.

I requested this ARC from Netgalley because the cover looked so warm and cosy, just like something you'd like to read by an open fire on a cold winter day. Alas, I don't have an open fire, but I do have a comfy couch and a warm blanket, and this book did the rest. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Both Victoria and Johnny were extremely likable characters. Victoria is a stressed Literature Professor suffering from Anxiety. Johnny is a Librarian with ADD who has to take care of his niece for two months while her mother is doing a work thing in Sweden.

Their paths cross when Victoria tries to organize an internship at the library as part of an outreach program of the university she works at. Victoria looks like a Hot Librarian, Johnny is a hot librarian who looks like a Tattooed Viking. Sparks Fly. Before they know it, they've started a 'Sordid Affair', but once their hearts get involved, things get messy.

I really appreciated the look at Academic Life, and how hard the continuous struggle is to fight against the ruling structures. My best friend quit academics after finishing her PHD due to the rampant sexism, so it feels good to have this problem acknowledged. As a Black woman, Victoria's struggle and fight takes place on multiple axes, so it's no wonder that the constant fighting against the system exhausts her and gives her anxiety. She plans, she argues, she plans again and she strives to be the best of the best at everything in her life, just to get the basic respect a woman in her position deserves. Some of the confrontations at her work gave me dread, all of them gave me rage, and I wanted her to be victorious in her endeavors so badly.

Luckily Johnny was there to relieve her of her stress with his emotional intelligence, his warm and kind heart, and all the great orgasms Victoria could wish for. I adored Johnny so much. Truly a hero of modern times. He's understanding and he listens, he doesn't pretend to know it all, and when he's out of his depth he calls in reinforcements. He's the epitome of a great Beta hero, and honestly, I wish more Romance Heroes were like him.

I loved his relationship with the women in his life, loved how he took care of his niece and I loved how he wasn't apologetic about having ADD, but was rather upfront about it. As a fellow ADD brain, I really appreciated the rep. (I should probably try the bare house thing, but alas, my house is a neverending uncontrollable mess).

Victoria and Johnny come from very different backgrounds and have very different brain stuff, and yet it all kind of meshes so organically and beautifully, my heart felt fuzzy almost from the start. There's this moment where Victoria plans out their sordid affair with timetables and color coding and a whole-ass excel sheet, and it was the cutest. And then Johnny thought so too, and my heart melted.

<i>"Excell sheets made her feel empowered."</i>

Truly never have I've felt more seen.

What's keeping this from a five-star book? Mostly it was a language thing. I like a little bit of foul language and I like my smut to be hot and dirty and to the point. There were just too many euphemisms for me and I really dislike it when cursing is cleaned out. Later in the book I realized this was partly a characterization choice – Victoria is very prim and proper, so she self-censures a lot. Still, the language choices took me out of the story a couple of times, because that kind of clean language is so far from myself.

(There were also a couple of small editing mistakes, but I'm assuming those will be removed by the time of official publication.)

Otherwise, I adored this book, and I couldn't put it down at times, just because I was rolling around in the feelings of love.
I'm looking forward to other books by this author, and definitely recommend this for people who are in the mood for a feel-good romance low on the angst.


*ARC provided by Netgalley in trade for an honest review*

There was a lot happening in this book. I went in thinking it was about a professor (Victoria) and a librarian (Johnny) getting together and while that was the main story line, there were a lot of other side story lines as well. ⁣
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I struggled with this book - instead of smaller plot lines being woven into Victoria and Johnny's story, it seemed more of one story line, then adding another, then another, then circling around briefly to re-touch on one of them, before generally tying them all up at the end; Johnny and Victoria were at the center of all of it, but some of it felt a little forced. ⁣
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The chemistry between Victoria and Johnny was good once it got going, but even some of their interactions felt a little stilted because we didn't know much about the characters when we first dive in. ⁣
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However, some of the side stories were engaging - there's a lot of discussion about being a young black woman (Johnny is white, Victoria is black, and Johnny's niece who he is the temporary guardian for is also black) and finding your voice in a sea of people who do not look like you. There was a good amount of time spent on this but I could have read even more - this was some of the best writing in the book.⁣
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There also was a whole story line about Victoria and her mother - how her mother was controlling and seeing Victoria believe in herself enough to stand up to her while still being able to maintain a relationship afterwards.⁣
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I would recommend this book because I think it touches on a lot of important topics, but know going in that the pacing might feel a little off at times. (If I had known that going in, the story might have flowed better for me.

Two words: swoony librarian. This is the love interest that every bookish person lusts for (and sadly does not seem to exist). Hearts on Hold took me a while to read through unlike Reid’s first book. The protagonist, Dr. Victoria Reese is extremely responsible - although her overdue romance book might suggest otherwise - and when she starts a sordid affair with the local librarian, things become steamy fast. Some of her traits felt a bit exaggerated, she’s tirelessly type A and wears multiple masks, for her professional and family lives. I wish there was a bit more fun outside the sec scenes - a visit to a haunted mansion stands out as very memorable! Overall, a good addition to Reid’s reads, and there are lots of intriguing characters that I would love see get their story next.

A charming, inspiring romance (not "inspirational romance", just inspiring). Victoria is a young English professor who’s just starting to find her footing professionally at a small private university. John is the head children’s librarian at the local public library she approaches about a joint internship program. When he proposes a more personal partnership, Victoria is tempted. But is it worth the risk?

This was a highly enjoyable read. Victoria is a badass and John is sweet, hot librarian catnip. Occasionally the plot dragged a bit, as in a couple of classroom scenes where the author was clearly expressing her own academic viewpoint on literature. But overall it was great.

I really enjoyed Charish Reid’s debut novel The Write Escape. I was so excited to get a copy of Hearts on Hold from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been busier and more stressed than usual, so it took a couple of days before I was really able to sit down and read this book. As I was starting and stopping and getting distracted, I was having a hard time investing in the characters. Once I had a little breathing room, Reid drew me right in. I completely fell in love with Victoria and John while they were talking about their messy friends.

Victoria tried to suppress her grin. “They’re not concerned about Becca’s hair in the least,” she said in a quiet voice. “They’re preying on your insecurities as a white dude while they push us together.”

John gave a nod of recognition. “Gotcha. And why would they do that?”

“Because my friends are messy.”

“Right,” he said, biting his lip. “My best friend, Chris, might be as messy.”


It turns out they have messy friends, messy families, messy colleagues, messy lives, and they themselves are a mess.

Insert "I love mess" gif here

Victoria, a professor at a predominately white and wealthy ivy league style college, is a tightly wound perfectionist constantly battling for her place in academia and defending against her demanding mother. John, a children’s librarian at the town library, is much more comfortable with mess though he often feels inadequate because his ADHD makes being organized a challenge. They meet when Victoria explores the idea of creating an internship opportunity for Pembroke students in John’s children’s program at the library. Reid grounds Victoria and John in their daily lives with their friends and family fully engaged.

Their lust is instantaneous and they quickly start negotiating an affair. Victoria looks at their schedules and plans out, as she says, “three weeks of rigorously scheduled passion.” John immediately plans to mess up her schedule. Initially it seemed out of character for Victoria to embark on even rigidly scheduled passion. As you get to know her, it becomes clear that the buttoned up and well planned Dr. Reese is one of her masks. Though Victoria is a POV character, Reid makes sure that we get to understand Victoria as John comes to understand her. It’s lovely the way he pays attention to her and is able to often understand what she’s not saying, while also being realistically insecure about a woman he is developing strong feelings for but doesn’t know well.

Hearts on Hold is a lovely romance. It’s out on February 3 and is well worth a pre-order.

Special thanks to the author, Charish Reid and Netgalley for sending me an E-ARC of Hearts on Hold in exchange for an honest review. Receiving this ARC did not affect my rating or review!

The Great: Relatable characters! And not just relatable main characters either. Some of the side characters were absolutely picture-perfect replicas of friends I have in real life as well as images of myself. But our main character, Dr. Victoria Reese is maybe the queen of order after my own heart. She’s smart, driven, witty, and likes things to be planned and executed in a certain fashion. Victoria’s interaction with the world around her as a black woman in academia pulled on every single one of my heartstrings. Now let’s bring in prince charming, Johnny Donovan. Oh my the swoon lol Johnny warmed my heart from the very beginning. He’s a doting uncle, loving brother and maybe the hottest head children's librarian for a public library that I’ve ever read about. Seriously, it’s not fair that he’s a fictional character because I need him in my life. NOW!

Which leads me to my next favorite point, the romance. Oh My Swoon! How badly did I want Victoria and Johnny to be together? Let’s just say I needed all the sexual tension to begin from the first page of the book. Because ya’ll, the chemistry was just shooting out of my iPad. Their interactions were authentic, the witty banter laced with literary innuendos was just fantastic and the steam? Lets also just say I needed a cold shower after a few scenes lol I absolutely rooted for this couple throughout the story and I may or may not have a new romance bae now.

The Good: Reid’s writing style is once again bar none in regards to pulling you into the story effortlessly. I read this book in two days and a majority of the time, I was in my living room with my family and a million other things was happening around me. While I was, in the midwest with Victoria and Johnny the entire time.

I also enjoyed the character development. Specifically, Victoria’s character development. Her transformation throughout the story felt authentic and well-thought out. And the best part, is that I can see Veronica’s growth well past this story. If we’re lucky to get a sequel, I look forward to reading how she’s progressed.

Overall, a great way to end last year and start the new year. I recommend Hearts on Hold to romance lovers who are looking for a twist on common romance tropes, wanting to connect effortlessly with characters and fall in love with a beautiful story.

This review is also posted on my blog, eattravelread.com

My last read of 2019 was this swoony and sexy Professor and Librarian romance, forthcoming from Charish Reid!

Dr. Victoria Reese is tightly wound and trying to make her mark at her prestigious and mostly white University. Being a Black woman in academia brings her both fulfillment and stress.

One of her new initiatives brings the sexy head Children's librarian and maybe a Viking John Donovan into her life.

Wildly attracted to John, Victoria attempts to plan via spreadsheet a torrid affair with the more than willing Johnny. But Johnny is just as determined to show Victorian that sometimes going off calendar can be just as good.

I really loved this one! I had to forgive Johnny a pretty egregious library worker mistake early on, but who cares really. I sure didn't as I fell in love with both characters.
There is absolutely delicious consent too.
I also appreciated the ADD representation.

Preorder this one now, Hearts on Hold is available February 3rd, 2020. *I received a free copy to review from @netgalley*

This review will be run on Goodreads on December 20th, 2019

The tl;dr: Buy This Book!

The story of Victoria and John is more than a story about falling in love. It is a story about DuBois' double consciousness, family, and finding yourself. Victoria is a Black professor at a prestigious White university who wears so many masks she can't find herself anymore. She feels like she doesn't belong and is wearing herself ragged trying to prove she does. She has two great friends (who I would love to see in future novels) but doesn't have any space to breathe. She is always on.

John is a children's librarian who is laid-back and comes into Victoria's orbit when they work together on a project she has pitched to the university. I thought the initial encounter of their relationship was too fast but the rest of the novel was paced perfectly. I really liked the John didn't "save' Victoria. He merely provided a place for her to rest and be herself. He provided love and security but in the end this is Victoria's story.

I could feel Victoria winding tighter and tighter as the novel progressed and the burden of a double consciousness and her insecurities increased.

This romance was swoon worthy, fun, well-paced, and nuanced. It would make a great addition to any romance lovers' shelf.

My only quibble with this book was the way that John's niece's father's abandonment was treated. John and his sister made excuses to Becca about her father because they didn't want her to think badly about her father. The truth is that, in pursuing a strategy like that, they are only going to make Becca feel badly about herself. They should have been upfront with her that what he was doing was wrong, was not acceptable and was not her fault.

Note: I received a NetGalley eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A great read.

John and Victoria meet through work, but soon they are emarking on some casual fun together. Will it turn in to more?

I liked how it is told from each of their points of view, and the other characters, such as John's Mum and Step-Mum were great fun.

First book I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it.

Victoria is a black anal retentive driven college professor looking to start an internship for her students at the public library. John is a white messy laid back Children’s Librarian looking after his niece while his sister is in Sweden. But opposite’s attract, right? This book is filled with realistic dialogue and plot. The main characters are well drawn and sympathetic and the supporting characters are as well. Subplots add depth. I would recommend this book to my patrons.